In vitro chemosensitivity testing of human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines.

Three human non-small cell lung cancer (non-SCLC) cell lines, one each derived from squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma were tested for chemosensitivity to 23 cytostatic agents using the soft agarose clonogenic assay. Results were compared with in vitro responses of SCLC cell lines derived from patients with and without prior chemotherapy and with in vivo phase II clinical trials in non-SCLC. Carboplatin, daunorubicin, paclitaxel, and teniposide were active in two non-SCLC cell lines and actinomycin D, bleomycin, etoposide, irinotecan, and mithramycin were active in one cell line. The cell line from the treated SCLC patient was less sensitive to cytostatic agents than the cell line from the untreated SCLC patient and had a sensitivity pattern comparable to non-SCLC cell lines. These data are consistent with clinical experience in non-SCLC and suggest that non-SCLC cell lines in conjunction with the soft agarose clonogenic assay can be useful for in vitro drug screening. They confirm that carboplatin and paclitaxel are among the most active drugs in non-SCLC and suggest that daunorubicin and teniposide may be more active then their more frequently used analogues.